United Nations Criticizes "Unacceptable" Manga Advertisement
The New York-based headquarters of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women — known as UN Women for short — is protesting against Japanese newspaper The Nikkei over a full-page ad it ran on April 4th.
Huffington Post Japan reports that the advertisement for the fourth volume of Towawa On Monday violates the agreement the paper made to participate in the Unstereotype Alliance, a group dedicated to eliminating harmful stereotypes in society. The advertisement featured the main character of the manga Ai-chan in her school uniform.
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“Stereotypes regarding women and girls are a major factor in preventing the realization of gender equality,” Kae Ishikawa, director of UN Women's Japan office told Huffington Post Japan. “Because advertisements have a major influence on the formation of societal norms… the advertisement in question is a violation of the [The NIkkei‘s] agreements to participate in the Unstereotype Alliance.”
«A manga advertisement that portrays an underaged woman in a school uniform in a sexualized manner plays a part in strengthening the stereotype that ‘high schools girls should be this way.’ It also holds the danger that it can encourage men to sexually exploit underage women. UN Women is opposed to the publishing of such ads. It goes against the memoranda exchanged between [The Nikkei] and UN Women.»
Towawa On Monday is an ecchi series, a genre focused on playfully sexual content. The manga focuses on a middle-aged salaryman who befriends a large-breasted high school girl. In fact, her name Ai-chain is a pun based on her I-Cup bra size.
«The manga sexualizes underage high school characters,» JIbu Renge, Associate Professor at the
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